Taliban
"Once you join them, you belong to them, you die for them. They can defeat anyone."- Fahim Fazli, former Mujahideen freedom fighter The Taliban, hardline religious extremist, who back their beliefs with bullets; The IRA, unstoppable urban guerrillas who waged a bloody hell savage war for Irish independence. Stats *Height - 5'9 *Weight - 160 pounds *Armor - none *Gear - 23 pounds Symbol - Islamic Symbol (representing the Taliban's islamic extremism) Weapons History The War in Afghanistan is one of the longest wars still being fought today, about 35 years long and facing constant change in belligerents and the Afghan government. Durring the Soviet War of Afghanistan the Mujahideen, islamic freedom fighters, rebelled against the Soviets. The Mujahideen split into various groups and continued the civil war after the Soviet Union left Afghanistan. The Taliban (literally "students") was formed in the early 1990's by Mullah Omar, who had previously fought against the Soviets, with less than 50 students from his hometown of Kandahar. This terrorist faction, made mostly of Pashtun peoples, grew in strength and popularity durring the Civil War of Afghanistan. Their first notable military action came in 1994, when they marched northward from Maiwand and captured Kandahar City and several surrounding provinces, losing only a few dozen men. In September 1996, the Taliban captured Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city. The civil war still existed, but between 1996-2001, the Taliban controlled 85% of the nation. They had close ties to many crime organizations like the drug cartels of South America. When in power, the Taliban enforced one of the strictest interpretations of Sharia law ever seen in the Muslim world and became particularly notorious for their harsh treatment of women. The list of things prohibited by the Taliban included employment and education for women, electronic devices, kite flying, dancing, clapping during sports events, alcohol, depictions of living things (whether drawings, photos, paintings, stuffed animals, or dolls), and Christmas cards, among other things. Men were required to have a beard longer than their fist and have their heads covered, while women were forced to wear a burqa, a traditional dress covering the entire body except for a small screen to see out of. Punishments were often severe, including amputation and public executions, sometimes held in Kabul's soccer stadium. As a government, the Taliban committed many massacres against civilians with 1000s of executions and murders. These aggressive and rouge policies has made the Taliban government despised by the international community. Although the Taliban lost control of Afghanistan in 2001, when coalition forces initiated military action in response to 9/11 (which was launched by Al-Qaeda, a close ally of the Taliban), it was later reformed in 2004 as an insurgency force. The size of the Taliban constantly changed as they faced heavy casualties but easily recovered their original numbers and are believed to be increasing in allies and power. They have survived off of the illegal heroin and opium drug trade, as opium grows naturally in Afghanistan. The Taliban's strength is estimated to be around 36,000 as of 2010 and have over 30 confirmed splinter cells or close allies (including Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and The Haqqani Network). Because of the controversies and length of the Afghan War, it is expected that the United States and NATO will leave Afghanistan, leaving the current Afghan government alone to fight the Taliban. There is much debate over if the Afghan government would win the war without significant NATO support. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is considered one of the worst nations in the world, despite receiving tens of billions of dollars from the USA and NATO. Crime, murder, poverty, drug use, terrorism, corruption, instability, illnesses, famine, lack of education and unemployment are some of the highest levels in the world. In 2013 international terrorist attacks has grown 4 times in number since 2001. In early 2014 it is believed that the Taliban are the defacto government of several towns and provinces in Afghanistan and have a stronghold near the capital Kabul. At the same time, the Taliban have shown instability in their leadership, causing a loss of unity and hostility among its own terrorist cells. President Obama announced plans to end American combat roles by late 2014 but about 9,800 American troops will stay in Afghanistan for training the Afghan security. Only until late 2016 will all American troops outside of Embassy security will leave Afghanistan. However in March 2015 Obama changed the pullout plan and will keep the 9,800 American troops stationed until further noticed: which will cost $4 billion a year for US Forces. The Taliban has increased their attacks and raids in the nation as a response to this power vacuum. As of 2015 over $1 trillion has been spent by the USA to fight the Taliban and aiding the Islamic Republic of Afghan (including after the end of US combat roles). The Republic of Afghanistan continues to weaken under its own corruption and has issues operating itself even under normal conditions. Battle The battle starts with 5 Taliban warriors climbing over a small hill leading to a parking lot. They survey the area for potential targets. Meanwhile, the IRA is sneaking through the lot, using the cars to hide them. The IRA leader leads his four men through the lot, but wind up running into the Taliban. The Taliban kills one IRA member with the AK-47, while the IRA kills a Taliban member with the AR-15 Armalite. Both teams scramble and run off in different directions. A Taliban member runs from an IRA man in between two cars. As the IRA man begins to catch up, he steps on a PMN mine and is killed by the explosion. The Taliban soldier escapes, but runs into an IRA member weilding an LPO-50 Flamethrower. He is set on fire and desperately tries to shoot in random directions, but dies before he can make a hit. Another Taliban member runs up and shoots the flamethrower's gas tank, causing it to explode and kill the IRA soldier. Another IRA man runs in between the cars, but is spotted by the aformentioned Taliban man. He pulls out his RPG-7 Rocket Launcher and fires a rocket at the IRA man, killing him. The IRA leader slowly enters a run-down trailer, keeping an eye out for the Taliban. He opens a closet door and sees a hand holding an AK-47. He quickly moves to avoid the gunfire, and then pulls out the Taliban boss from the closet. The two get into a fight, with the Taliban boss throwing the IRA leader against the cupboards. Outside, the Taliban member with the rocket launcher sees the two men and prepares another rocket. The IRA leader pushes the Taliban boss against the wall and knocks him to the floor, then looks out the window just in time to see the Taliban member with the RPG-7 pointed right at the trailer. He quickly runs out of the trailer, leaving the Taliban boss inside. The Taliban member outside fires the rocket, unaware that the IRA leader left without the Taliban boss. The Taliban boss gets up and sees the rocket flying towards the trailer, leaving only enough time to scream before the trailer is blown up. The other Taliban member picks up his empty AK-47, equipped with a bayonet, and runs after the IRA leader. The IRA leader tries to hit him with his slingshot, but misses. The Taliban man catches up and tries to stab him, but the IRA leader swings a car door in his face and forces him to drop the AK-47. The IRA leader pulls out a knife and tries to kill the Taliban warrior, and the two struggle to gain control of the knife. The IRA leader gains the upper hand, and stabs the Taliban man in the throat. A final Taliban member rushes in with his own AK-47 and tries to shoot the IRA leader. He picks up an Armalite and runs from the Taliban member, trying to shoot him as well. The chase leads to a broken-down bus. The IRA member runs into the bus and pulls out a bomb. He sticks it next to the exit in the back and get out. As the Taliban member enters the bus, the IRA member blocks the exit with the Armalite. The Taliban member tries to open the door, but is unable to do so. The IRA member begins taunting him with the remote and then runs away. The Taliban member sees the bomb and tries harder to open the door. The IRA leader runs to a safe spot, then presses a button on the remote. The bomb begins beeping, then explodes and kills the last Taliban member. The IRA leader raises his fist and yells "Erin!" ("Ireland") in victory. Expert's Opinion The reason why the IRA won was because they were better at fighting as a small group to defeat a larger group (the simm demonstrated this well by the lone IRA leader killing three Taliban soldiers), their skills at guerilla warfare, and the deadly accuracy of the AR-15 Armalite. Trivia * Taliban is the only warrior to kill one of their own (accidentally) in the simulation. * As mentioned on the show, the Taliban fought against the Spetsnaz in the Soviet war in Afghanistan and against American special forces in the American Invasion of Afghanistan. Durring the Soviet War in Afghanistan, the United States CIA was supporting the early Taliban to remove Soviet influence from the area. The Taliban today still call themselves the 'sons and grandsons of the Mujahideen'. * The Taliban first appeared in the Green Beret/Spetsnaz episode where they attack an armored car. The same scene is used in IRA vs. Taliban. It was seen again in the Pancho Villa vs. Crazy Horse when they were explaining that their tactics inspired later guerrilla groups. The Taliban also make an appearance in the US Army Rangers vs. North Korean Special Operations Force battle, when showing how the Rangers have operated in every American conflict. * The Afghan Civil War has been lasting for 33 years, making the Taliban one of the longest continuosly fighting warrior in modern history. * At 13 years and counting, the US invasion of Afghanistan is the longest war involving the USA and so the Taliban are the longest fought enemy of the USA. * The Taliban fought against NATO lead Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Rangers, CIA, Gurkhas and FFL and some Taliban fought Spetsnaz and the KGB durring the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. * The Taliban and the Somali Pirates both share the AK-47 and RPG-7. In real life they both have links or relations with Al-Qaeda. * The Taliban's relationship with Bin Laden wasn't as strong as many Americans believed. Bin Laden's involvement in the Soviet War of Afghanistan had him ally with groups who were destroyed by the Taliban. Also since Bin Laden was exiled from Sudan and Saudi Arabia by the late 1990s, the Taliban leaders feared that his criminal background would be risky. Even before 9/11 Bin Laden was being hunted by the CIA inside Afghanistan. It is unknown if the Taliban knew about 9/11 before it occurred and it's unknown if they had the authority to give into America's demand to surrender Bin Laden. However the Taliban have used Al Qaeda troops similarly to a special forces due to their extremism, training and experience. This made them effective shock troops and bombers against the US-Afghan forces. Other Videos of Taliban training http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxI3wLgLpDs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0aT4xl5lVM Video of Taliban territory and political influence in Afghanistan 2013 http://youtu.be/3gtgABn0pYk Category:Warriors Category:Modern Warriors Category:Surviving Modern Warriors Category:Defeated Warriors Category:Criminal Warriors Category:Season 1 Category:Guerrillas Category:Warriors of the 2000s Category:Enemies of NATO Category:Enemies of the USA Category:Arab Warriors